— Governor distances self from demonstration
By Dayo Johnson, Akure
The Democratic Integrity Network, a support group within the All Progressives Congress (APC), has condemned Monday’s protest by some women and youths in Ondo State over the National Assembly candidates’ list ratified by the party’s National Working Committee (NWC), describing it as a staged attempt to undermine the party’s leadership.
In a statement issued by its Coordinator, Bankole Aminu, the group described the protest as an “orchestrated plot against the party’s leadership” and a “dangerous distraction from party unity.”
The group also commended President Bola Tinubu and the APC National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, for their leadership of the party.
According to Aminu, the protest was not a genuine expression of grievance but a carefully planned exercise allegedly funded to discredit the party’s leadership.
“Protests are, by their very nature, spontaneous; they arise organically when people feel their voices have been suppressed. What we witnessed in Ondo State was anything but spontaneous.
“It was organised, planned and, worse still, funded. We have credible information that each of the women who participated in the protest was given ₦3,000. That is not protest; it is procurement—a rented crowd masquerading as aggrieved party members,” he alleged.
The group described it as regrettable that the Ondo State Commissioner for Women Affairs, Dr. Seun Osamaye, and the APC Women Leader in the state, Oluwayemisi Iji-Ayeola, were reportedly seen leading the demonstrators.
It maintained that party members with grievances should seek redress through established internal mechanisms rather than public protests capable of embarrassing the APC.
According to the group, the National Working Committee acted within its constitutional powers in reviewing the outcomes of the party primaries based on appeals and evidence of alleged irregularities.
“To bypass all of these and take to the streets is reckless and amounts to a betrayal of the party. The enemy is not within; the enemy is outside,” the statement added.
The Democratic Integrity Network further accused associates of Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa of deepening divisions within the party instead of promoting reconciliation and unity.
“They are creating factions within factions, setting members against one another and undermining the authority of the party’s national leadership,” the group alleged.
It advised the governor to surround himself with “competent, loyal and experienced hands” rather than political loyalists who, it claimed, were contributing to the crisis.
The group also criticised the administration’s performance, alleging that governance had suffered because of prolonged political disagreements.
Meanwhile, government sources said Governor Aiyedatiwa had distanced himself from the protest and was unaware of the planned demonstration.
According to a source, the governor was unhappy that the Commissioner for Women Affairs allegedly participated in the protest against the party’s national leadership.
Some APC leaders were also said to have expressed concern over what they described as the involvement of a serving commissioner in a protest against the party, while reports also emerged of disagreements among some participants over alleged unpaid allowances.
